Who's the "Fartest"?

I thought I would share a funny story. Just like most people with 4 year olds riding in the car for us is a nonstop chatter fest from Parkes, he starts as we buckle him in and is still talking as I'm getting out of the car to get him and Cash out. So the other day the whole family was in the car and Parkes is jabbering on about something while Brandon and I are having a conversation with a quick "really" or "wow" back towards Parkes so we are "taking part" in his conversation. So then I started to hear him talking about who's the "fartest" (which is how he says smartest). I stop and listen as he goes on to tell Cash "mom's a little farter then dad, but I'm definitely the fartest." I think all the times I've told him how smart he is has gone to his head. So here's what Parkes has been up to... So for a funny story on Cash....he has learned how to turn himself in circles. This morning he's out on the porch just turning in circles and then stops and stumbles around until he falls unto his bottom. He then just looks up at me and laughs. Then proceeds to try to stand again with a little wobble and start all over. He probably entertained himself and me for a good 30 mins doing this. And Cash has become obsessed with showing off his belly button... Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day. We took it easy and just spent a little family time and Brandon finally got some much need quality time with the bobcat and got some mud piles moved!!! Now we are ready for some mud football in the backyard so gather your teams...

Cash's Numbers

Well we did have a doctor's appointment for Cash this past month and I never put up his stats. He is.... weight 24 lbs 12 oz (60%) height 29 inches (still below the curve) head 48 1/2 cm (60%) He just might end up with a bigger personality then Parkes if that is possible. Cash's favorite word is "hi." He makes sure to tell everyone he passes and at school as we walk the halls he will stop in ever door to tell whoever is in there hi. He, also, loves to have "conversations" with us and just babbles nonstop and then will stop and wait for us to respond so he can answer us. He has several words, but I feel he probably has a lot more then I know, but since he talks constantly and doesn't stop at an item to say a word it's hard to tell (Parkes was the same way and then he just started talking and you could understand everything). He is obsessed with his belly button at the moment. He is such a happy baby (until it comes to meal times which I cannot make fast enough for him) and loves to observe things before he gets his hands into it which is the complete opposite of Parkes. They are for the most part very similiar in their personality and looks that it is fun to see when they show their differences. And in hair news it looks like Cash could be curly like Parkes which I thought for sure his was going to be straight, but now there are some curls forming. I'm still not convienced it will be as curly as Parkes, but maybe more like my brothers. And finally in exciting news, my youngest brother, Brad, graduated from college. We are so proud of him. Now he is looking for someone to sponsor him so he can join the winter golf tour which would hopefully lead to the regular tour so if you know anyone or a company looking to sponsor a golfer let us know. Our camera's battery died right after this picture so it's all I have. Only one Stevens left to graduate and that won't be until at least 8 years from now.

Muddy Buddies do Destin

Another picture from the Mud Day of Parkes and Ollie...they are great friends and neighbors and will get in to all kinds of trouble as they grow up. So about a week ago the neighbors told us how they had gotten a free trip to Destin through work and since it was just going to be Ashley and the boys that could go asked if I wanted to brave it with her and go down and take my boys. So Thursday morning at 4 am we loaded the car with five boys and two moms and headed down (we left early thinking that the boys would sleep a few hours of the trip, but oh no they were way too excited for that even Cash decided to stay awake). So we got down there nice and early to enjoy the sun and miss the rain of Nashville. All the boys did so well on the trip and played great together so it was actually a wonderful relaxing trip. Parkes and Ollie on the beach Parkes and Cash relaxing at the pool Cash loved the pool Daddies showed up at 2:30 am on Saturday and got to bury the kids in the sand. Also, the daddies flew kites with the boys and it was very windy which lead to one flying away which lead to Parkes being a little upset because he "just loved the kite." On the way home he told us though that he saw God playing with the kite up in the clouds so all was good again. Cash enjoyed the chair on the beachThen on the way home our family made a little detour and went to Mobile to see the battleship. Parkes really enjoyed it...and so did Daddy. Cash just liked the break from the car.Pretending to shot the big machine gunsAnd finally I had a birthday before the trip. Brandon keep asking what I wanted to do but really didn't care to do much of anything because I already had a girl's night planned to celebrate and last year's birthday we had a colicky baby and I had a pinched nerve in my neck so I was good this year (what a difference a year makes). So Brandon decided to clean the house and make dinner and a cake for Porch Talk (our normal evenings after the kids are put down and the neighbors gather on the porch for adult conversation). As you can see Cash enjoyed helping make the cake.

Easter and more mud fun...

Okay well I finally got the camera away from Brandon who keeps leaving every morning with it so I could download some pictures. So here's a couple shots of the boys at the Easter egg hunt at my parent's house. Once Cash realized what was in the eggs he was all done and just sat and ate. Then there's the dirt piles...still there. We were hoping to have them moved today, but our neighbor who has the bobcat is out of town and has the bobcat at another house. Can't be too picky when he lets us use it whenever we want and unlike most people we seem to have the need for a bobcat a lot. So the boys realized that between our yard and our neighbors which we are fencing in together so the 5 boys can have lots of room there is a pond when it rains. So yesterday afternoon there was some mud still in it which of course could only be made better if you turn the hose on. This is how it started... And then how it ended...Cash really wanted to join the big boys, but wasn't to sure about it until Ollie convinced him.

Lots and Lots of Dirt

So we have been discussing the backyard to try to get it finally completed and ready for summer. We got the fence installed when they were doing the front porch. Brandon had told them to just install it level and we'd get some dirt to even out the yard since the yard we knew sloped some towards the back but we didn't think it was too bad...that was until they put in the fence level and we had a 3 foot gap at the bottom on one side. So we had discussed getting dirt and Brandon said that he could maybe get some from a job dumped at our house and not have to pay for getting some (we are very thrifty home renovators). So fast forward to today and I call Brandon as I am driving home from school to hear that we got some dirt dumped today. So I'm figuring I would come home to one small pile of dirt, but oh no this is what I drove up to see.Of course Parkes thought it would be so much fun to climb on. Luckily I convinced him to change clothes first since he had his Easter Bunny pictures at school and their Easter Egg hunt he actually wore good clothes to school. And Cash enjoyed watching him from ground level. So looks like I know what we will be doing this Easter weekend. Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter.

Spring Break Fun and Balloons!

This past week was the boys and my spring break and truthfully I was not doing cartwheels about it. The boys really enjoy school and need that outlet for their energy, and I enjoy the break even though I am in a class of 8 kids down the hall, other kids actually listen to what I saw when I tell them to stop usually. Anyway, the week actually turned out great. Both boys seemed to catch onto that it was spring break and decided to sleep until 9 every day...yes I said 9. We all three enjoyed being lazy and just playing around the house and enjoying the weather. Parkes pulled out his sidewalk chalk and had lots of fun. Cash had his first experience of running free in the back yard and had a blast. Brandon joined in on the fun on Saturday and we spent all day outside playing with the neighbors. Cash has started clinching all the muscles in his body when he gets really excited to the point he is shaking. Here's the best shot we have gotten of it below. It is so funny and he will start doing it for the laughs too. He has formed a love of balloons and today as we walk in Harris Teeter he started getting really excited because he could see the balloons he could hardly control himself. Parkes has decided that his favorite color is blue (everyone must have one and if you don't Parkes picks one for you....we will see how this goes as Cash starts voicing his opinion more). But anyway, Cash carries his balloon around with him for hours and gets really upset when it is taken away. Here he is eating with it because he had a death grip on it I couldn't pry it out of his hands and it was not a battle worth fighting over.

Happy St. Paddy's Day

St. Paddy's Day has become a big deal this year around our house. Parkes got to do the leprechaun hunt at school and has been looking for leprechaun's in the woods so he woke up very excited today to see what all the leprechaun has turned green, and he is decked out in head to toe green (a shirt just wasn't enough). So we have the Guiness Stew in the crockpot and I'm about to start working on some Irish soda bread to round of the festivities for tonight. Here's Cash at the pool on Saturday. We found the perfect rainy day activity to get out of the winter blues...the Bellevue Y has a great indoor pool for kids. My brother-in-law had taken his girls there and I keep meaning to go, but you know life gets busy. Well Parkes had been talking about the pool and Cash absolutely loves the bath so we decided to go and it was so worth it. The boys had so much fun on the slides and fountains, and the best part they were worn out and asleep at 7:30 leaving a nice night for mom and dad. For those that know Parkes' sleeping going to bed at 7:30 is unheard of...usually 10 is doing well. Anyway, have a great St. Patrick's Day!!!!

Cash Walks!

Well Cash has finally decided walking might not be so bad and has started taking steps. He still definitely prefers crawling, but has taken up to 10 steps. Above he is showing off his walking and his chunky legs. You can also check out the black eye which has started looking more like eye shadow. Below is his preferred method of movement. He scouts around the house like this the majority of the day.

First Shiner

Cash got his first black eye today...pretty good with how rough our boys are. It doesn't really do it justice in this picture, but you get an idea. Luckily it happened in my classroom right before he wen to his so his teachers didn't have to come and tell me and no accident report had to be written up. He cried for all of 30 seconds before he wanted down to play some more. Of course if I take Cash's picture Parkes wants his taken as well so here he is with one of his "kids" as he calls his small stuff animals.And finally this Walgreens Deal from Southern Savers is just too good not to share. I did it Sunday. Now if you printed off the $5 coupons for Huggies then it's a great deal (if you just have the $1.50 off ones then it's still not bad). I actually did this deal then took my $10 register rewards (print off with receipt) to buy 4 12 packs of cokes for $13 (so paid $3) which printed off $3 more register rewards which I then used to buy milk (so paid nothing). So when I left Walgreens I had spent $17.50 and had a total savings of $90 for 4 Glade products, 3 packs of diapers, 4 12 packs of cokes, milk and a coke for me to take to church. Now what really got my out of pocket was the deal below was $6, but the tax was $6 because it is on the total before the coupons are taken off.

• Buy:
• (3) Huggies Diapers $10 ea
• (4) Glade Lasting Impressions or Sense and Spray $7.99 ea
• Use:
• (3) -$5 off Huggies printable (will work for any type)
• (2) Glade B1G1 printable
• (2)-$4 off Glade Manufacturer coupon from newspaper
• (4) -$4 off Glade Walgreens coupon (only need one, computer will take it off x 4) from Easy Saver Rebate Book
• Total Due: $6.49
• Get: $10 RR back, you make $3.51 profit

So with Walgreens and after a $23 Publix trip (I saved $38) I am almost at my $50 weekly grocery budget which I have done great the past two weeks of keeping and that includes buying 4 packs of diapers and 5 boxes of Captain Crunch which Brandon was very excited about.

Why Play with Toys...

when the basket is so much more fun!!!!

Life surrounded by Boys

Well this Valentine's Day we decided to do something a little different and spend some family time away from home where the laundry, dishes and various other to-do list get in the way (Brandon and I did go to dinner alone together last weekend). So where did we go...to a cabin off the Natchez Trace. Brandon had gone there growing up and said how much fun he had there hiking and fishing so since I am destined to be a mother of boys I should just embrace it. So we packed up the car and left Saturday morning. Luckily it was nice the first day and a half so we got some hiking and fishing in before it turned really cold. The cabin, as Brandon put it, hasn't changed at all since he had been there as a child so you could imagine there was not much. We were told no TV which when we explained this to Parkes his response was with a big bottom lip stuck out, "But I love TV." We all survived though with no technology (it did turn out there was a tv in the cabin but it only got a few home shopping channels and we tv). So here's some pictures from the past few days (I left our camera at my class so we only had Parkes' camera and the pics are a little grainy, but it is fitting for the trip).

Learning to Cook Pistaches

Last night Brandon's dad, Happy, drove to Nashville to bring Patricia and Julie to the airport so they could fly home to Aruba. Brandon requested that they teach us how to cook Pistaches and Johnny Cakes a childhood favorite of his from when he lived in Aruba. A Pistache (which I could be spelling that completely wrong) is a dough that is rolled out and stuffed with gouda cheese alone or with anything else you want and enclosed then fried. Johnny Cakes are the same dough but flattened out and fried kinda like a fried pancake...both are really yummy. Brandon used to get them on the playground during school for a snack, and I got to enjoy them when we went down to aruba 3 years ago. It will be nice to get to share them with Parkes and Cash and share that part of Brandon's childhood. I think it is definitely time to have a theme dinner around the pistaches maybe with some plantain chips too...I'll have to fit it in between Mardi Gras and St. Paddy's Day. Here's some pictures from the evening (I really don't know why I can't get the font out of italic...it has a mind of it's own). We are enjoying this nice weather and our new front porch. Cash wants to play out on the porch all day.

One more good thing...

Flowers from my husband for no reason.

We are still here...

just haven't left the house in awhile or taken pictures or much of anything that I will mention here. It's been a rough time around here lately with Parkes pressing every button I have. So here are some good things that have happened around here lately... Parkes decided to try a hot dog and liked it so he now will eat three things...hot dog, peanut butter and jelly and cheese sandwiches. Parkes finds every reason to remind me how much he loves me, Brandon and Cash. Cash is self entertained with a ball for hours and thinks it is the funniest thing when he throws it across the room. The sound of a quiet house at 9 at night...Parkes has been going to bed so much better. The sound of delight out of both boys as they watched the firetruck and NES truck in front of our house tonight fix a transformer that blew. Parkes with his arm around Cash pointing out the man on the ladder and Cash yelling "ight, ight". I think we've made a break through today so hopefully next weekend we won't be cleaning 10 pairs of underwear and have 6 showers in two days.

Circus

My parents and sister took Parkes and Abby James to the circus on Saturday which was a much needed break since Brandon has been traveling almost every weekend to do the Alabama interviews and I am definitely about worn out right now. Parkes had so much fun and has shown me the book he got there about 30 times to tell me what all he saw there. Thanks Grammy, Grandad and Aunt Hayley!!!!!!

Free Photo Album

I just ordered my free photo album from HOORAY. Click here to find out details from www.mommysnacks.blogspot.com. It was valued at $42 and I just paid $7.99 for shipping.

It's cold outside...

and we are staying inside. This has been where Parkes has stayed since Monday afternoon with perks of getting up when the medicine has kicked in and his fever goes away for 30 minutes or so. The good news is that they don't feel it is anything contagious just from extreme constipation...yes potty training has been a fun year and a half experience with Parkes and he is very stubborn and it has finally taken it's toll on his body. The bad news is his fever still isn't going away. So hopefully he'll get some relief soon. We aren't used to him feeling bad for so long as when he gets sick he usually gets over it in just a few hours.

What a Year

We had the boys yearly check-ups today and with that in mind and the fact I have cleaned out almost all the pictures from the computer onto disks and have few to chose from I put a picture of the boys from a year ago for your enjoyment. Cash looks great and is doing everything he should at this point and I'm sure will be walking before we know it or he'll decide to enjoy being carried around a little while longer who knows. He weighed in at 23 lbs (55%) and measured 28" (still below the curve). Parkes had a traumatic doctors appointment as he is having some tummy issues and was in a lot of pain this morning and a low fever, but luckily with the magic of some medicine is doing better this afternoon just not 100% yet. But he weighed in at 36 lbs (75%) and measured 39" (25%). So what the doctor did predict is that Parkes is going to be the giant and be close to my brothers height about 5'7" (yes this is very tall for us) and Cash is going to be the short one and probably be shorter then Brandon, but Cash has the personality to pull it off. It's been a crazy year with adjusting to life with two boys, Brandon working for himself and me starting to teach preschool....I can say I feel completely worn out most days trying to keep up with the boys energy, but that's just life as a mom and it's so worth it.

The Big 1st Birthday

Another picture from Mary Alice. Cash turned one yesterday and even though we did his bday with Parkes we woke up the morning and had some cinnamon rolls to celebrate the occasion. We had our first day back to school so Cash got tons of attention on his special day and lots of singing which I made him clap the whole day in delight.I can't believe he is a year feels like such a fast year. And with how Cash spent his first few months with us he definitely has become a different child. He is now very laid back and happy, and he cracks himself up all the time which is so funny and really makes Parkes laugh. He started out rolling over at 6 weeks and trying to pull up and scoot at 5 months, but now is very content with crawling and doesn't make any attempts to walk on his own and really doesn't like to walk holding my hand because he would rather just crawl by himself. He does not want to be rocked or cuddled which can make it harder at night when he wakes up becasue if we pick him up he thinks it is play time, but after a few trips to put his paci back in he finally usually settles back down. He loves food, most anything unless it is plain veggies he prefers them seasoned to his taste. His favorite game right now is "How big is Cash?" And his favorite toy is a ball...he could spend hours throwing from one side of the room to the other. He has defintely brought so much joy to our family especially Parkes who doesn't understand he can't hug and kiss him all day long. Parkes believes Cash is "his baby"...it will be fun to see what happens as Cash gets bigger and can really tell Parkes what he thinks about the nonstop hugs.As for Parkes since he just turned 4 and never wrote what he was doing now, he too is quite independent and has become quite the chef. He loves to cook and watch the Food Network which works out well for me so we can compromise on shows. He loves Power Rangers and Transformers. I was told by him yesterday after he told me he had to sit in timeout at school yesterday for the first time that the reason was a boy was running by and his "tiger powers" just got him. The things that he says are so funny and he asks questions all day long. He is overly affectionate...I get at least 200 kisses and hugs a day from him. He doesn't sleep near enough, but when he comes out of his room for the 7th time at 10:30 because he "just had to give us a kiss" it makes us smile and forget that we are frustrated. He will talk to whoever will listen to him even if it is the person walking their dog down the street. So that's the boys this year. Brandon too celebrated a birthday on the 6th, but I think he'd appreciate it if I didn't tell what he's been up to and saying....could be pretty funny though.

Savings for 2009

I've been asked several times about the coupon lessons I have learned from my sister when she went to a class given by a local friend of hers and if it really saves that much well according to my cvs receipt I have saved almost $700 for 2008. Of course if you don't have young children in diapers and eating formula then your savings would be less as I buy all that good stuff there with my extra care bucks (ECB - their savings program that print off at the end of the receipt when you have their store card). So as I start over for 2009 with no roll over ECB since I used them to buy some household staples before Christmas I added a sidebar that shows what I am buying at CVS. If you look at the pages of deals on the webpages they can be overwhelming so this is just a easy way to see how you can make it work for you (don't know why it went italic there, but I can't fix it). I will show the coupons I use from the newspaper inserts (there are two in the Sunday paper, Red Plum (RP) and Smart Source (SS)). So it will show a date and then which insert which saves you from ever clipping a coupon until you are actually going to use it.